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I was going to write this article on our underperforming rugby team who have lost 7 tests in a row. It looks like the post-mortems are going to wait for a while. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not afraid to speak my mind on how badly the Wallabies are going. It’s just that something else about 986875 times more important has suddenly come up.
Before last week, I’ll admit that I had my doubts. I must admit I thought that that I never knew that 1974 captain Peter Wilson was now a recluse. I must admit that I thought that we were conceding the advantage to Uruguay. I must admit, the defence seemed to be a little bit suspect. I must admit we had a few problems with selection issues. I must admit that I was doubting the fact that a 1-0 loss away from home was a good result. I must admit that I thought of all the cruel methods of elimination, we were heading for the cruellest fate of them all, the dreaded penalty shootout.
For 32 long years, disappointment haunted all our dreams (and then I saw her face, now I’m a believer!). I sat through the disappointment as Maradona fuelled himself with enough drugs to get Argentina through for USA ’94. I have watched replays of us frittering away chances to beat Scotland as they qualified for Mexico ’86. I’ve woken to the news of the tragedy of Uruguay before Korea/Japan 2002. As for that night, the 29th of November 1997 against Iran, well I think enough has been said about then.
But as a couple of lines in “Flower of Scotland” suggest, “Those days are past now. And in the past they shall remain”. Sure it seemed forever sitting through the preliminaries, the tense first half hour, the missed chances after Marco Bresciano gave us a sniff, the chances for both sides in the 2nd half (so easy to forget), the tense extra time and finally penalties, but it was worth it. There was more drama than Coronation Street would provide in a month all squeezed in to almost 3 hours. Did I mention the release of the tension in one massive leap after the final act of the drama?
I wonder after all that if Alvaro Recoba will now say that Australia has a “divine right” to be in the World Cup. On second thoughts, who cares what he says now. Alvaro, I hope that the raw egg on your face is tasting good if you read this (I doubt it, but you never know. I wonder how Uruguayan coach Mr Fosatti will feel after coming so close? Actually, I can answer that by relating his feelings with the likes of Frank Arok, the late Eddie Thomson (bless his soul), Frank Farina, Mr Terry Vegetables and “Captain Socceroo” himself, the late and great Johnny Warren (YES, HE TOLD US SO) who have witnessed the efforts that didn’t quite cross the finish line in front of others.
I mentioned on a post shortly after the game that there were 23 heroes wearing gold shirts on the 16th of November, 2005 (well, Hiddink wore a black suit, but you get the idea). Of course, I cannot forget the others involved in the background such as assistant Graham Arnold (himself on the losing side multiple times), John O’Neill and Frank Lowy (head honchos of the FFA), even QANTAS who provided a charter flight from Uruguay complete with all the medical help required as well as much needed dosh for the lads.
It is a shame that the professional era will see the players jet off back to their clubs so soon, with only locally based Archie Thompson (a starter in Uruguay) and 3rd string keeper Ante Covic (Swedish based, but their season finished recently) not having to travel too far (even though Archie will back up on Friday night returning to Melbourne to a hero’s welcome). Many of the clubs could not give a toss about international football as any football fan would know, but surely it would be a bigger event for these players than anything they would achieve in club football.
It’s so easy to forget that this was only to make the last 32 in the world. Not only does this win get us on a plane to Germany, still the only place where Australia will have played in a World Cup, but the money and the interest in the game will skyrocket. Let’s not forget that the domestic A-League is blossoming nicely (worth an article of its own), but the national team will also get to play on a regular basis. Sure we have played as a National team more than 10 times in the last couple of years but 75% of those games were against the giants of Oceania football (whom we shall never play again). Now we will be playing many warm-up matches against decent opposition in the lead up to the World Cup, and then we move to Asia which is booming as a confederation.
I have always said that I am more passionate for the National Team than I am for club football. I am sure that about 82000 of the 82698 that turned up in Sydney at the Olympic Stadium, plus the many thousands in pubs, clubs, common areas like Federation Square in Melbourne (traffic is at a standstill as I write this, and it’s 1:22 AM in the morning in Melbourne) and at home like I was would agree (assuming of course that there were 698 Uruguay fans which there seemed to be). If you watch the game either through replays, highlights on the news or if you somehow manage to download the game, I’m sure that you may agree with how I feel.
In closing, 3 words I believe will sum up the feeling, and in advance I apologise for the language. YOU FFUKING BEEEEAAUUUUTTTYYYYYY!!!!!!!
UNTIL WE SPEAK AGAIN
YOU KNOW I’M A GOOD BLOKE
MOOKS
PS: A message from former AFL footballer/legend Ted Whitten to the doubters…….WE STUCK IT RIGHT UP THEM!!!!!!
PPS: Dedicated to fallen comrades Jimmy Mackay (1943-1998) and Johnny Warren (1943-2004), and all other members of the 1974 World Cup team who will now be joined at the pinnacle of Australian Football History.